Revised “Executive School Bylaw” expands surveillance and disciplinary control amid rising warnings from educators, parents, and child-rights advocates
A senior official in Iran’s Supreme Council of Education has confirmed the finalization of a revised version of the “Executive School Bylaw,” a document that—despite its bureaucratic language—marks another clear escalation in the regime’s long-running effort to turn schools into controlled security zones rather than spaces of learning.
The revised bylaw, which increases the discretionary powers of schools over issues such as student mobile-phone use and the installation of surveillance cameras, has been widely criticized as a new layer of institutional control.
Educational activists say these measures fit squarely into the regime’s broader campaign to tighten political and ideological oversight over students.
Mousa-Reza Kafash, Deputy Secretary-General of the Supreme Council, told ISNA on Friday, November 28, that the text is now close to final approval after three years of revisions and more than 64 committee sessions.
He boasted that the new version aims to expand the authority of school principals and councils in educational, health, financial, and administrative planning.
One of the central changes, Kafash said, concerns “regulating student mobile-phone use,” a topic which the Council intends to hand over to local school bodies. By shifting these decisions to individual school councils—a structure already dominated by regime-appointed administrators—the new rules effectively allow each school to implement restrictive or punitive policies with minimal oversight.
Another contentious point is the installation of cameras inside classrooms and school spaces. Kafash acknowledged that the issue has caused “challenges” in past years but claimed the revised bylaw assigns greater responsibility to school councils to decide “based on the school’s specific circumstances.”
Child-rights advocates argue that this phrasing is a thinly veiled attempt to normalize surveillance and expand monitoring of students’ everyday behavior.
Kafash also announced that the clause permitting temporary student expulsions has been removed, replaced with so-called “counseling recommendations.”
However, education experts warn that with expanded administrative authority and a long history of informal punitive practices, schools could continue to impose harsh disciplinary pressure through unofficial channels.
This regulatory push comes at a time when Iran’s education system is already under national scrutiny. Just ten days before Kafash’s remarks, students at a girls’ technical school in Shahr-e Rey were violently beaten during a classroom inspection that included aggressive searches, destruction of personal property, verbal threats, and the prevention of contact with parents.
Eyewitness accounts confirmed that what unfolded was not an isolated incident but part of the regime’s deepening pattern of institutional violence inside schools.
For at least two decades, authorities have attempted to impose security-driven policies in schools to stifle dissent among students, teachers, and organized labor groups.
One of the most alarming recent developments occurred on April 19, when state media announced a new joint agreement between Iran’s national police commander and the Minister of Education—an agreement that paves the way for expanded police presence and intensified monitoring of both students and teachers.
The move was immediately met with public outrage, with critics warning that they would not allow schools to be turned into “military barracks.”
Meanwhile, on March 24, Tasnim News Agency, affiliated with the IRGC, published a report insisting on the “necessity of installing cameras in classrooms,” framing surveillance as an administrative priority for the Education Ministry.
The push for surveillance has surged further since the outbreak of the uprising in 2022, during which students and teachers played a pivotal role in nationwide protests.
With the regime accelerating its campaign to securitize classrooms, the revised “Executive School Bylaw” represents more than a technical update—it is a political instrument.
By empowering school administrations aligned with the government and normalizing surveillance and coercive oversight, the Iranian regime is tightening its grip on one of the most sensitive arenas of society: the minds and voices of the next generation.
